Liquid egg, i.e. egg out of the shell, is conventionally subjected to pasteurization to eliminate Salmonella but the pasteurization conditions employed do not destroy all organisms capable of spoiling egg products held under refrigeration temperature above freezing (about 4° C.). The survival of spoilage organisms in pasteurized liquid whole egg product combined with conventional packaging technology, results in products with limited shelf-life, namely about 7 to 14 days at about 4° F. (about 4° C.). This requires freezing and frozen distribution systems to be employed.
In general, there is a temperature/time relationship with respect to conventional pasteurization conditions. It is also known that the shelf-life of liquid egg products can be increased by increasing the severity of the pasteurization conditions by increasing the pasteurization temperature for the same time period or increasing the time period for the same pasteurization temperature. Such ultrapasteurization provides a functionally acceptable liquid egg product with a longer shelf-life, from about 4 to about 36 weeks. A predetermined time and temperature are chosen for the ultrapasteurization procedure to impart a preselected shelf-life to the liquid egg product.
There has been increasing interest in the role of omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish and fish oils, for the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease as well as other health benefits. The omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 polyunsaturates) of particular interest for cardiovascular care include eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:5n-3). Omega-3 fatty acids also exist in plant sources, but mainly in the form of α-linolenic acid (ALA or LNA), which undergoes a small degree of metabolism to EPA and DHA.
The mean daily intake of EPA+DHA in a typical North American diet, namely approximately one fish serving every 10 days, approaches 0.13 g/day, or approximately 0.15% of the total dietary fat intake, well below recommended minimum levels for EPA+DHA of at least about 0.65 g/day, preferably about 1 g/day. This deficiency may be improved by increasing fish intake or fish oil intake.
However, many people find fish to have a “fishy” taste which militates against increased fish content in the diet. There is also a perception that fatty fish consumption is fattening. In addition, capsules of fish oil are sometimes found unacceptable for swallowing by many people. In addition, fish oil capsules can induce fishy tasting burpings, which many people find unpleasant, and nauseous.